Next week I am accompanying my sister to Winchester, VA … she is looking at Shenandoah University. I was wondering if anyone wanted to get together for dinner on Thursday night (the 14th). We will only be there the one night.
Also - what do cab fares generally run there? And, are there any “must see” attractions ?
Many thanks up front!
First off, the image of you lubing up the town is…um…disturbing. To say the least.
Don’t take the cab, if possible. Just take the Metro. Much easier. If you do have to take a cab, then the system is sort of complicated. DC runs it’s cabs based on a zone system, rather than meters. The base fare is $4.00 and it bumps up $1.50 (I think) every time you cross a zone boundary. So if you are just staying within Zone 4, you’ll pay $4.00, but if you go from 4 to 5, then you will pay $5.50, and if you go from 4-6 it’s $7.00.
Also, Winchester is about an hour or two drive away from DC. So if you are just spending one night in Winchester, it probably won’t be feasible to visit DC. And if you are thinking of taking a cab from Winchester to DC, it’ll easily run you over $60.
As for what to do in DC, you should probably just stick to the Mall, and visit the Capitol, the monuments and the Smithsonians if you have the time. And walk by the White House.
Yeah, Winchester’s not too close to the city itself. There may be some Northern VA people who know of things to do that are closer, but DC proper is a bit of a hike.
The Metro is the only way to fly in WDC. Clean, efficient, on-time, safe. As to “must-sees”, where does one start? I agree with Neurotik’s suggestions. You can literally spend days in the Smithsonian, but it’s a great option if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
Well, I guess I was confused about how far it was. The closest airport is DC? Anyway …
So maybe I should ask to have the thread title changed to: Northern VA ?
sigh
I guess you can tell I don’t get out of town much.
Yeah, the closest airport is DC, AFAIK. At least the closest major airport.
But yeah, it’s going to have to the really northern VA Dopers - you’ll be practically on the West Virginia border. On the little pointy area that sticks up into it.
Ok. Winchester is NOWHERE near a metro. It is about 80 miles west of DC.
You actually would be closer to Jonathan Chance’s West Virginia hideaway than most DC area dopers.
Even though I grew up in Winchester, it has been 15 years since I’ve eaten there so I have no recommendations for dinner.
The closest airport to Winchester is Dulles (IAD) followed by National (DCI). Enjoy your visit
NinetyWt - I assume you’re flying in to Dulles, and renting a car to drive out to Winchester. At least, I can’t imagine any other feasible way to manage a trip like that, since you’ll be 50 miles from Dulles, which is the nearest major airport.
MADs - just for reference, Winchester is ~20 miles west of Jonathan Chance’s mountain retreat.
Well, that’s northwest, actually.
It’s maybe 45 minutes from my place in the Blue Ridge. And there IS no easy way to get there from Washington.
Damn straight you’re flying to Dulles. Anything else would be…uncivilized.
Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. SU is a damn fine school. If I ever free up my schedule I want to take some classes at their Leesburg satellite campus.
Thanks everyone, especially Coldfire for fixing the thread title.
Jonathan ~ 45 minutes to go 20 miles? I’m thinking windy, twisty mountain roads. Sounds adventureous!
[sub]I hate to admit this but - well, SHE talked me into it - we are coming on Greyhound.[/sub]
I think it’s a little more than 20 miles. Lemme check…
Mapquest says it’s 33.02 miles and 50 minutes to Winchester from my place.
No twisty pathways. Just a two lane interstate (Route 7) with stoplights and a mountain to climb.
No, chestnutmare, I realize that Winchester is nowhere near a Metro, but I assumed NinetyWt was coming into DC and wanted to know the best way to get around once she was here.
I will not be there, but for dining, I recommend Cafe Sofia.
2900 Valley Avenue, Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 667-2950
Very good Bulgarian food. Good for something different.